Prejudice against ethnic Chinese tycoons remains

By Tjipta Lesmana

JAKARTA (JP): The controversy over the plan to sell 50.1 percent of Indocement's Indofood to Singapore-based QAF Ltd has subsided following a recent government statement.

According to an investigation conducted by government ministers, the company's move does not amount to capital flight. The plan, the government says, is in line with its policy of anticipating the ASEAN Free Trade Area and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation free trade eras.

Prior to this, the Salim group company's plan had been under fire. According to Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono the controversy even drew the attention of President Soeharto, who ordered the ministerial investigation.

The plan, which is said to involve the restructuring of PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, is obviously linked to Indonesia's most prominent tycoon, Sudono Salim. The press even questioned his nationalism. His accusers were convinced that Salim's plan would severely damage the nation's economy.

Salim and other tycoons have already gone through similar experiences. Salim was criticized when he invested in China, as was Eka Tjipta when he set up a paper mill in China.

"We often operate under suspicion," said Sofyan Wanandi, a businessman who often assumes the role of spokesman for the Jimbaran Group, named after the place where some of the country's most powerful tycoons promised to cooperate to help smaller businesses.

Sofyan says the media is less than friendly to conglomerate owners, while the tycoons themselves feel they have always helped with government development programs in a substantial way. The latest example being their assistance in creating gigantic rice fields to alleviate poverty.

I once encountered a tycoon who looked listless. He showed me a "sacred letter" coaxing big businessmen to purchase shares in PT Dua Satu Tiga Puluh, at the time a newly established company linked to the national airplane industry.

He also told me of his experience when he was invited to a dinner attended by well-known businessmen. They were all "held up" to buy coupons as tokens of their participation in a government program. By the end of the evening, less than two hours later, tens of billions of rupiah had been collected. "I only contributed a little," he said honestly.

An observer likens Indonesian businessmen to milk cows. They are given various facilities to expand their businesses and their companies increase in size. Their knowledge is then solicited to assist various government programs.

"Its only right to give assistance, but the system sometimes causes headaches, too, especially when business is slow like now," said one businessman.

People believe they have good reason to suspect business tycoons, many of whom are Chinese-Indonesians. They cite examples of Chinese traders being used by the Dutch colonial government as buffers between them and the indigenous population.

Another claim from colonial times was that traders were willing to become guards in return for profit or rank. These so- called "sins" of centuries past have been told to subsequent generations and the burden of these allegations is still borne by people today.

The government must take some responsibility for this. The New Order, consciously or not, has created a fertile field for the growth of a discriminative atmosphere in society. It seems that certain regulations were made with the intention of identifying Indonesians of Chinese origin.

Identity cards have special codes for this societal group. Admission to state universities is restricted. The same applies to the Armed Forces' and government agencies' recruitment. Consequently, 90 percent of Chinese Indonesians find refuge in the only venue left open to them, namely business.

It is ironical then that when they go into business, the ethnic Chinese are accused of being economic animals who think only of money without any social concerns. Another accusation is that ethnic Chinese dominate more than 70 percent of the Indonesian economy.

For some reason, people strongly believe that at the highest level ethnic Chinese are linked inextricably with people in power. It is asserted that they obtain bank credits more easily because of a recommendation or "sacred letter" from a senior government official. People go as far to say that these businesspeople enjoy all kinds of facilities, including monopolies, and seem to be "untouched" by the law.

They cite examples of a tycoon in prison who easily escaped or an ethnic Chinese businessmen accused of tax fraud, causing the government billions in losses, who was acquitted. In the wake of events like these indigenous businessmen who fail to obtain facilities are angered and some make unguarded statements bordering on racism. It seems that the setting up of businesspeople's organizations, like HIPPI and HIPLI, is somehow related to this mood.

This hostility toward tycoons extends to the rest of the ethnic Chinese community, which in turn leads to an explosive social situation. People simply believe that the ethnic Chinese are prospering and enjoying an opulent lifestyles while other Indonesians are missing out. Each time social unrest explodes, lower and middle class ethnic Chinese are the first victims. The recent riots in East Java, Central Java and West Java are an example.

Social scientists believe the government allows the growth of prejudice among indigenous people against ethnic Chinese because of certain political interests. If the government is in an unstable situation, the ethnic Chinese can easily be turned into scapegoats.

The scapegoat theory is apparently very fitting when analyzing the series of riots over the last 13 months. It also explains why society tends to dislike tycoons. It is possible that the real target of people's hostility is the power holders. But since people do not have the courage to vent their frustrations against them directly, they turn on the tycoons.

The writer is a lecturer in the School of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Indonesia.